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My Name is Rachel Corrie

Marya Sea Kaminski in MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE. Photo copyright Chris Bennion.Okay, so my name isn't Rachel Corrie, but there's a really good play about her at the Rep through 4/22.

In case you've been living under a rock, Rachel Corrie was an Olympia native, Evergreen student, and International Solidarity Movement volunteer who, in March 2003, was killed by an Israeli bulldozer set to destroy Palestinian homes in Gaza.

In what amounts to an intermission-free 90-minute monologue, Brits Katharine Viner (a former Guardian editor) and Alan Rickman (yes, Professor Snape from the Harry Potter flicks) have turned her writings into a gripping (if occasionally choppy) posthumous autobio. A new local production has been mounted in the Leo K. Theatre (the Rep's smaller venue), and WET co-founder Marya Sea Kaminski is marvelous in the title role. In her very capable hands, Corrie is neither saint nor insurrectionary: she's a flighty, flaky, impassioned kid whose precociousness and idealism lead to a series of life choices... one of which happens to be a tragic one.

Kaminski is one of the show's two stars, the second being scenic designer extraordinaire (and fellow WET co-director) Jennifer Zeyl. Her deceptively simple set is a wonder of versatility: sloppy Washington college dorm room one minute, bullet-pocked Gaza house the next.

To say that the play invites political debate is to state the obvious -- and you'll get both sides from leafleteers outside the theater as you enter. But no matter where you stand on the conflict that has been the undoing of many, and regardless of your opinions of the subject's actions or ideologies, this production of My Name Is Rachel Corrie is an undeniably riveting piece of theater.

categories: Marya Sea Kaminski | olympia | political | theater | Leo K. Theatre
1

Jeremy D. Downing said on March 29, 2007:

I am proud to mention that Marya is one of my teachers here at Cornish College of the Arts. In fact, I just got out of her class. Jealous? :p

The theater department went to see My Name is Rachel Corrie this morning, and it was all of the adjectives you describe it to be here. And the most important quality of the play is not its production -- it's the discussion that it has sparked among Seattleites about the Israel-Palestine conflict. The play (which was comprised entirely of Corrie's writings, aside from recorded epilogues) is controversial, often one-sided, and at times sadly naive, but then again so was Rachel Corrie, and so are we all. I'm just glad to see the city of Seattle shed its "see/hear/speak no evil" veneer and participate in open discussion about a profoundly important topic.

2

imaginary embracey said on March 30, 2007:

Agreed, agreed, and agreed!

(And, yes, I am a wee bit jealous of your daily proximity to La Kaminski.)

We need to get you writing some theater stuff, Jeremy D. Downing! There'll be a bit of a dearth when SIFF takes over my life in May...

3

Gina said on October 13, 2007:

Unfortunately, your facts are not quite accurate. Check this out:

http://hnn.us/articles/42227.html

Rachel Corrie worked with terrorists. The house that Israeli was tearing down contained an underground tunnel to smuggle in weapons to destroy Israel. Rachel was not a very bright girl and bent down directly in front of a huge piece of machinery. She literally stepped in the path of death.

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